GOATS AND SAUERKRAUT

Yesterday Mother Prioress, Rose and I made sauerkraut.  Had 120 lbs of cabbage. Took us 3 hours.  Now it "rots" for about 5-6 weeks. Then we can or freeze it for the year.  This year we salted it right after it was shredded so that made it easier for MP, who always does the tamping to get the water out of the cabbage.  This is necessary to get a good product.

Last week had book club at OLR  and introduced a book called GOAT SONG by Brad Kessler. You ask?  who cares about goats or even the making of cheese?  This book is far more!  All in our club were glad to have read it! The book sold out in two months after first printing. One of those books you tell your friends about and they pass it on. Kessler gives you lots of information on the intertwining of goats and human history. He is a poet at best! Our Mother Noella- "The Cheese Nun"- is mentioned in the book, one of the reasons I chose it. Several times he mentions St. Benedict and there is a chapter on a monastery of contemplative men nearby. (This man is Jewish, which makes his use of Catholic nuns & monks  and Saints all the more extraordinary).

How is the soul like cheese? This is one of the many questions asked by  Kessler.
He provides the answer: "It starts out raw and unformed and tries to reform itself over time. It is constantly corrected and rebuffed, purged of blemishes and taints and sins".

Goat Song is  more than a book about goats and cheese. While we learn much about them,  they are but a path that leads us to contemplation of life itself.
Blessings for the week, MH

Mother Prioress -- cheese instructor

Making  raw milk COW cheeses